USC
1-3
Notre Dame
4-1
No. 3 Notre Dame Tops USC Women 80-58
November 25, 2011 | Women's Basketball
Nov. 25, 2011
FREEPORT, BAHAMAS - The USC women's basketball team closed the gap to nine during the second half of its tropical tangle with No. 3 Notre Dame, but the Fighting Irish would pull away and capture an 80-58 win over the Trojans on day one of the Junkanoo Jam in Freeport, Bahamas. The 2011 NCAA finalists were led by Skylar Diggins' 22 points on the night, and received 17 from Natalie Novosel, 11 points of which came from the free-throw line. USC was paced by Ashley Corral's 17 points, including 11 in the second half. The Trojans fall to 1-3 overall with the loss, while Notre Dame goes to 4-1.
Approximately 24 hours after arriving in Freeport, the Trojans squared off against the No. 3-ranked Fighting Irish in a bid to play for tomorrow's Junkanoo Jam championship game against either No. 6 Duke or Gardner-Webb. USC came out strong and forced eight lead changes in the first seven minutes of action, going up 13-11 on a three from Briana Gilbreath before Notre Dame made a 9-1 run to take a lead it would not relinquish the rest of the way. The Trojans contested the boards well throughout, with Notre Dame leading 38-35 on the night. The Irish shot 43 percent in the game to USC's 33 percent, and forced 21 Trojan turnovers.
USC trailed by 12 at halftime and cut it to nine on back-to-back 3-pointers from Corral as the teams crossed the 15-minute mark of the second half, only to see Notre Dame outscore the Trojans 20-5 in the next seven minutes to create a winning margin for the Fighting Irish.
USC will face either No. 6 Duke or Gardner-Webb tomorrow (Nov. 26) in the consolation game at 5:45 p.m. ET.
